Building-block



nl I 1 ,3 1 6 ,307 Patented Sept. 16, 1919.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIGE.

CHARLES w. KAISER, 0F NEWARK, nnwa'nnsnrl BUILDING-BLOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patentd sept lfi, 1919.

Application filed February 19, 1917. Serial No. 149,382.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. KAISER, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBuilding-Blocks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to characters of reference marked thereon,forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to building blocks, and has particular referenceto building blocks molded or manufactured from cement, concrete, variouscompositions of a plastic nature, containing cement, clayor othersuitable material.

One object of the invention is to provide a block for building purposes,which shall be light, and at the same time, exceedingly strong anddurable, and of such construction as to prevent moisture frompenetrating the wall, in the construction of which said blocks areemployed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a block which may beeasily and quickly set in a building wall structure, each block beingprovided with recesses and a tongue, and with corresponding recesses andtongues adapted for engagement with those of the adjacent blocks, therecesses to be filled with cement or the like, to prevent lateraldisplacement of the block when laid in courses, thus readily enablingthe blocks to be laid in proper alinement.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved block of thecharacter described, the frame-work of which shall be of a uniformthickness throughout, thus producing a uniform Vertical strain orpressure of weight throughout the entire wall structure.

A still further object of the invention is to provide the bearing faceof each block with corrugations or channel ways, so that thecorrugations will fit into the corresponding corrugations of the otherblock, in order to hold the same securely.

Further objects of the invention are to simplify and improve theconstruction and operation of this class of devices. With these andother ends in view, which will readily appear as the nature of theinvention is better understood, the same consists in the improvedconstructionandnovel ar rangement and combination of the parts, whichwill'be hereafter fu-llydescribed and particularly pointed out in theclaim.

In the accompanying drawings has'been illustrated a simple and somemodified forms of my invention, it being however under stood that nolimitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details ofconstrue tion therein, but that changes, alterations and modificationswithin the scopeof the invention, may be resortedto as desired. In thedrawings, I i I Figure 1 represents a plan view of my improved block.

Fig. 2 represents an end elevation of the same. c 1 j Figs. 3, 4 and 5represent plan views of slightly modified forms of building blocksconstructed in accordance with -my invention.

Fig. 6 represents a top plan View showing several courses of the blocksarranged to break joints; and I Fig. 7 represents a vertical sectionalview one upon the other.

Corresponding parts ures are denoted by hke characters of reference.

the said block, subsequent to molding, may

be subjected to burning or to any suitable hardening or finishingprocesses, and that the material employed in the manufacture of theblock may be mixed with any suitable pigment or coloring material,whereby it may be colored to simulate various kinds of natural stone orother building material.

The blocks are provided with interlocking ends. These ends are cut outso as to interlock with the corresponding ends of the adjacent blocks,and both ends are pro vided with a vertical groove 2, which mayadvantageously be of semi-circular form, as shown inthe drawings, saidgrooves serving when the blocks are placed end to end, to form verticalchannels for the reception of mortar, as shown at 3 in Fig. 6 of thedrawings, or metallic locking rods or keys (not shown) may be employed,thus forming lock joints, whereby the blocks Wlll be on an enlargedscale, of two blocks arranged inthe several-fig;

The improved building block which genfirmly united and held againstlateral dis placement. To further promote this end, one end of the blockis provided with a vertical groove 4: formed in the face of the cut-awayportion of the block, and at the other end, with a tongue 5, said tongue5 v being designed to have holding engagement with the groove 4 of theadjacent block.

The bearing faces of the blocks are corrugated to form channelways 10,in order to prevent moisture from penetrating the wall, in theconstruction of which said blocks are employed.

The channelways 10 are preferably painted with an asphalt waterproofpaint, whereby the blocks will be firmly united; said channelways serveas guides enabling the blocks to be laid in courses, breaking jointsmidway of their length with the utmost regularity and accuracy, and inan easy and convenient manner, thus producing a neat and sightly result.

This improved building block can be easily manufactured at a moderateexpense, and possesses, in an eminent degree, the qualities of strength,lightness and durability.

The shape is such as to enable the block to be conveniently handled andset in posi tion; and it may be readily molded or formed in closeimitation of more expensive building material. lVhile I have shown thepreferred form of my improved block in Figs. 1, 2 and 6 of the drawings,the same is susceptible of various modifications. as illustrated in thevarious figures of the drawings, as for instance, in Fig. 3, thevertical groove 6 may be substituted for the tongue 5, and a verticaltongue 7 substituted for the groove 2. In Fig. l, the vertical grooveSis substituted for the vertical tongue 5, while in Fig. 5, a verticaltongue 9 may be substituted for one vertical groove 2.

Experience has demonstrated that the organization above described is ahighly eflicient one, and while the device described is the preferredembodiment of my present invention, I do not care to restrict myself tothe exact details of construction, combination and arrangement hereinset forth, as

obvious modifications thereof, not involving the exercise of invention,may be made by any skilled mechanic, and such departures from what isherein described and claimed, I consider within the scope and terms ofmy claim.

Having thus described my invention what I desire to claim and secure byLetters Patent is:

A building block formed with recessed and interlocking ends, cut out soas to interlock with the corresponding ends of the adjacent blocks, therecessed portion of one end of the block being provided with a verticalgroove, and the adjacent or outer end of the, block being also providedwith a vertical groove, and the other recessed end being provided with avertical groove and a vertical tongue, in close proximity to the outerend of the block, one of the vertical grooves in each end of the blockdesigned to register with the corresponding vertical groove in the otherend of the adjacent block, whereby vertical channels are formed for thereception of locking means, the vertical groove in the first namedrecessed end of the block being designed to have holding engagement withthe vertical tongue formed in the recessed end of the adjacent block,said block being further provided with longitudinally extending zig-zagtongue and groove interlocking means on the top and bottom.

This specification signed and witnessed this 16th day of February, 1917.

' CHARLES W. KAISER. Witnesses:

FREDK. C. FISCHER, CLIFFORD A. ALLISTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, 10.0.

